SETTING THE SCENE
Date: Oct. 24, 2015
Location: Normal, Illinois
Kickoff: 2:00 p.m. CT
Stadium: Hancock Stadium
Stadium Capacity: 13,391
Series: WIU leads 50-43-3
Watch: CSN Chicago/ESPN3
THE GAME
Coming off its fifth-straight win, No. 3 Illinois State (5-1, 3-0 MVFC) returns home to Hancock Stadium to host in-state rival No. 20 Western Illinois (4-2, 3-0 MVFC) on Homecoming at ISU. The Redbirds and Leathernecks will square off with the top spot in the Missouri Valley Football Conference standings on the line. The game will kick off at 2 p.m., and will be broadcast live on CSN Chicago and ESPN3.
THE SERIES
This will be the 97th meeting all-time between the Redbirds and the Leatherneck in a series dating back to 1904. Western Illinois leads the all-time series 50-43-3, but Illinois State has been victorious in the past four meetings overall and have won the last three meetings at Hancock Stadium. The two teams have only met twice previously, when both were nationally ranked with the last happening on Nov. 6, 1999.
THE COACHES
Illinois State: Brock Spack (Purdue, 1983) is in his seventh season as the head coach at Illinois State (51-27). Spack led the Redbirds to their first Missouri Valley Football Conference title in 15 years in 2014, and set the school record for wins with 13 while being named a finalist for the Eddie Robinson Award.
Western Illinois: Bob Nielson (Wartburg, 1982) is in his third season as the head coach at Western Illinois (13-17) and his 23rd as a collegiate head coach (183-76-1). The Leathernecks have improved each season under Nielson and WIU defeated two Top-25 opponents during the 2014 season.
TELEVISION BROADCAST
Saturday's game will be broadcast live on Comcast SportsNet Chicago, as part of the Illinois State Television Network. Below are channel listings where the game can be found:
- Comcast Cable – Channel 56/522
- ATT Uverse – Channel 740/1740
- Comcast Xfinity – 37/200
- DIRECTV – Channel 665
- DISH Network – Channel 429/5429
- DISH Network Hopper Channel – 412-19
- MEDIACOM – Channel 25/732
THIS WEEK'S OPPONENT
- Western Illinois University is located in Macomb, Illinois, and has an enrollment of 11,458 students. The Fighting Leathernecks are members of the Missouri Valley Football Conference and play their home games at Hanson Field (16,368).
- The Leathernecks finished the 2014 season with a 5-7 overall record and a 3-5 mark in MVFC play. They return 41 letterwinners and 16 starters from last year's team in 2015.
- WIU is off to a 4-2 start in 2015, with a pair of wins against nationally-ranked FCS opponents. The Leathernecks opened the season with a 33-5 win over No. 25 Eastern Illinois and picked up a win at the UNI Dome against No. 12 Northern Iowa last week.
- Western Illinois' two losses came in back-to-back games in September. The first was to FBS foe Illinois (44-0) and the following week, No. 1 Coastal Carolina squeaked out a win over the Leathernecks (34-27).
- The Leathernecks have posted a 3-0 record in the Missouri Valley Football Conference for the first time since 2000 and are tied atop the league standings with the Redbirds.
- WIU cracked the Top 25 rankings for the first time in five years, following last week's win at UNI. The Fighting Leathernecks debuted at No. 23 in the FCS Coaches Poll and No. 20 in the STATS FCS Poll.
- Sophomore linebacker Brett Taylor earned his second MVFC Defensive Player of the Week honor of the season, following the Leathernecks' 24-19 win at No. 12 UNI last weekend. Taylor registered a game-high 12 tackles, of which 11 were solo stops, with one tackle-for-loss.
- The WIU offense is loaded with play makers at every position. Quarterback Trenton Norvell has thrown for 1,471 yards and nine touchdowns, with Lance Lenoir serving as his favorite target as he has recorded 519 yards and scored twice. Running back Nikko Watson rounds out the three-headed monster on the ground, with an average of 5.1 yards per carry and 584 yards and six touchdown in just four games played.
THE LAST TIME THEY MET (OCT. 18, 2014)
Senior placekicker Nick Aussieker nailed the game-winning field goal, as No. 9 Illinois State erased a 21-point second-half deficit to come from behind for a 37-34 win at Western Illinois. After starting the first half with three costly turnovers, Tre Roberson was magnificent in the second half and finished the game with 256 yards passing and three touchdowns, to go with 81 yards and a score on the ground. Trailing 27-6, the Redbirds battled back and a David Perkins interception gave the Redbirds the ball at the WIU 32-yard line. ISU moved the ball down to the WIU 17-yard line, before Aussieker nailed the winning field goal as time expired.
BIG PLAY REDBIRDS
The Redbird offense was explosive in 2014, and it has shown that it still has that ability in 2015. Through six games, the Redbirds have posted 42 plays of over 20 yards or more and have turned 13 of those plays into six points. ISU quarterbacks have 21 throws of 20 yards or more and have converted nine of those into scores, and runners have nine long runs that have turned into three touchdowns. Wide receiver Anthony Warrum has been the biggest playmaker, with 13 long grabs that he has turned into seven scores.
WELCOME BACK ALUMNI
Illinois State will host its annual Homecoming game Saturday and will welcome back alumni, family and friends for the big game against in-state rival No. 20 Western Illinois. If recent trends hold true, the fans in attendance at Hancock Stadium will be treated to a lot of fun. The Redbirds have won five of the last six Homecoming contests and are 48-40-6 overall.
LONGEST HOME WINNING STREAK IN FCS FOOTBALL
Four-time defending national champion North Dakota State held the longest home winning streak in the FCS, until the Bison fell to South Dakota last Saturday. With 15 home wins in a row, Illinois State now owns the longest home winning streak in FCS football. Harvard, Cornell and Jacksonville are next with nine-straight wins each and Coastal Carolina is next with six.
ON A ROLL
After battling an outstanding Iowa Hawkeyes team in a season-opening loss (Sept. 5), Illinois State has been on a roll ever since. The Redbirds have now rattled off five-straight wins, including back-to-back victories over a pair of Top-10 Missouri Valley Football Conference foes in Northern Iowa (Oct. 3) and Youngstown State (Oct. 10). After setting season-highs in total offensive yards (572), passing yards (319) and rushing yards (253) in a 38-2 win over Valley opponent Missouri State (Oct. 17), the 'Birds bring a 3-0 MVFC start to Hancock Stadium, where a Homecoming tilt against fellow conference leader Western Illinois awaits.
STOUT DEFENSE
The ISU defense has looked good throughout the season, but in the 38-2 win over Missouri State (Oct. 17), it looked impenetrable. The two points surrendered against the Bears were the fewest allowed by the Redbirds to a MVFC opponent since Oct. 14, 2000, when ISU shut out Indiana State 21-0. The Redbirds also held the Bears to just 259 yards of total offense and just 80 yards passing. The last time ISU held an opponent under 100 yards passing was on Sept. 6, 2014, when Mississippi Valley State threw for just 36 yards in a 62-0 loss to the Redbirds.
AIR ATTACK
Quarterback Tre Roberson has been outstanding in 2015 despite battling a hand injury, and he saved his best performance of the year for Missouri State (Oct. 17). Roberson threw for 304 passing yards with three touchdowns, while leading the Redbirds to a 38-2 win over the Bears. It marked his first 300-yard passing game of the season and his third during his time with the Redbirds. The preseason All-American and STATS Offensive Player of the Year Watch List member has thrown for 946 yards and nine touchdowns, while adding 207 yards on the ground with two rushing scores for ISU during its 5-1 start to the season.
TOPPING THE CENTURY MARK ON A CONSISTENT BASIS
A stout Iowa Hawkeye defense kept ISU All-American running back Marshaun Coprich corralled in the season-opening loss (Sept. 5). Since that time, however, the "Young Bull" has run wild against opposing defenses and once again ranks among the best running backs in FCS football. With his 139 yards and two touchdowns at Missouri State (Oct. 17), Coprich rushed for over 100 yards for the fifth-consecutive game and for the 23rd time in the last 28 games. He also moved over 4,000 career rushing yards (4,007), which is also No. 1 among all active FCS players. He ranks No. 13 on the all-time MVFC list and became the 14th player in league history to reach 4,000 rushing yards last weekend against the Bears.
OFFENSIVE DUO AMONG THE NATION'S BEST
Marshaun Coprich and Anthony Warrum have put up numbers through six games that rank them amongst some of the top performers in all of FCS football. Coprich, who led the FCS last season in rushing yards and touchdowns, ranks No. 3 in the country in rushing yards per game (129.8) and rushing touchdowns (10) and No. 4 in rushing yards (779) and scoring with 10 points per game. Warrum ranks No. 4 in receiving touchdowns (8) and is No. 8 in yards per reception (22.04) and also ranks in the top 20 in receiving yards (No. 17 - 573) and receiving yards per game (No. 15 - 95.5).
AUSSIE PUNTER COMES UP BIG
Junior punter Reece Attard did not see much work during Illinois State's 38-2 road win at Missouri State (Oct. 17), but when he did it was impressive. Attard placed three of his four punts inside the 20-yard line, on his way to averaging 49 yards per kick. Attard's first punt traveled for a career-long 70 yards before rolling out of bounds at the 7-yard line to pin the Bears deep at the end of the first quarter. His next punt, in the third quarter, went for 42 yards and was downed at the one-yard line. Attard has already made several solid contributions in his first year as a starting punter, posting an average kick of 40.1 yards with four 50-plus yarders.
QUICK STRIKE OFFENSE
The Redbird offense has shown an affinity for scoring, ranking No. 24 in the country with an average of 34.2 points per game. Many of those points have been scored on just one play, as the quick-strike offense has shown itself through six games. ISU needed less than two plays to score four different times in a convincing 67-14 win over 2014 MEAC champion Morgan State (Sept. 12). Tre Roberson found Christian Gibbs for a 70-yard strike and Roberson later connected with Anthony Warrum on a 57-yard touchdown in the second quarter. Midway through the third quarter, Marshaun Coprich bowled his way from one yard out, and Roberson and Warrum hooked up again on the next drive, needing just one play to connect on a 34-yard touchdown pass. The Redbirds also added a pair of one-play scoring drives at Missouri State (Oct. 17), the first coming on a 76-yard touchdown run by Coprich and the second coming on a 75-yard touchdown pass from Roberson to Warrum.
MINIMIZING MISTAKES AND PENALTIES KEY TO SUCCESS
Illinois State head coach Brock Spack has preached focus and attention to detail in his seven seasons as head coach and stressed the importance of not beating yourself to his teams. The 2015 Redbirds seemed to have embraced this concept, as they rank among the FCS leaders in fewest penalties and turnovers. ISU ranks No. 4 in the country in fewest penalties with just 27 total and No. 11 in turnovers lost with just six total (four fumbles, two interceptions).
